Romney flip-flops on 2012 GOP convention preference

by: Matt

Thu Apr 29, 2010 at 21:09:45 PM EDT

March 5:

Romney told The Salt Lake Tribune on Friday that he believes all three cities vying for the 2012 gathering -- Salt Lake City, Tampa and Phoenix -- are "terrific" cities but that he's not going to give a preference.

"I remember what an extraordinary host Salt Lake was for the 2002 Winter Games," Romney said, "but one thing I will stay a mile away from is any discussion of which city should be the host for the convention."

Last week, while campaigning with Marco Rubio:

Romney became a national figure when he led the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, so you might think he'd be partial to Utah hosting the 2012 Republican convention rather than Tampa or Phoenix, the other finalists.

Well, the likely presidential candidate sure sounded to us like he'd prefer to see the convention in Tampa, the biggest battleground region of America's biggest battleground state.

"It would be a terrific location. I have a lot of friends here in Tampa, and I must admit it would be a lot of fun coming back at the Republican convention," Romney said in the Political Connections interview. "Whether I'm in the mix or not is a different matter."

Gee, nothing like pandering to the local audience in an early 2012 primary state.